East Midlands Trains staff set for strike action over ...

East Midlands Trains staff set for strike action over ‘paltry’ pay offer

25 July 2014

East Midlands Trains faces a four day strike, starting on Sunday (27 July), by its engineering and maintenance staff in Derby, Leeds and Nottingham in a dispute over pay.

More than 80 staff at the three depots, members of Unite, the country’s largest union, will strike from 06:00 on Sunday, ending at 05:59 on Thursday (31 July). This will be accompanied by a continuous overtime ban which will also start on Sunday and will continue beyond Thursday.

Unite predicted that train services would be disrupted during the big ‘get away’ weekend of the summer holidays, as schools break up.

The union called on the management to get around the table to improve on the ‘paltry’ 2.75 per cent pay offer for the year April 2014 – April 2015 – which has now been taken off the table by the bosses.

Unite regional officer Mick Millichamp said: “Our members have worked hard for this company adapting to the many changes asked of them. However, they were very disappointed with the current paltry pay offer, now withdrawn, at a time when household bills are going through the roof.

“The management has not applied equal treatment to this group of workers as other groups of employees have received greater improvements to their terms and conditions.

“The timing of this dispute was set by the employer’s failure to recognise Unite members’ legitimate grievances.

“It is regrettable that this employer has failed to build on the co-operation and goodwill Unite members demonstrated last year when extensive line work was carried out and the workforce at Nottingham and Derby carried out all maintenance work at the Derby depot.

“Unite believes that a large number of the working public will relate to unfair treatment and being undervalued in the workplace.

“We would welcome constructive talks with the management with a view to securing a better pay deal.

“The strike is due to go-ahead on Sunday for four days and we predict significant disruption to services, as people use East Midlands Trains to start their summer holidays.”